


A Safe Place to Land

by blackcoffeeandteardrops



Category: Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Post-Avengers: Endgame (Movie)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-14
Updated: 2019-05-14
Packaged: 2020-03-04 21:47:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,097
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18821380
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blackcoffeeandteardrops/pseuds/blackcoffeeandteardrops
Summary: Post Endgame AU. Or Endgame tie-in, however you want to look at it. The point is, Tony and Pepper get some hard earned rest.





	A Safe Place to Land

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote like half of this before ever having watched the movie. I came back to it this week once I finally felt I could write fic again for these characters I love, and though the movie made it AU, I still enjoy it, and I hope you do as well. Thanks for reading!

When Tony returns--crash lands, really--back on Earth, they’re too busy figuring out how to attack Thanos for Pepper to notice how much it all bothers him at first. She knew getting launched into space, albeit semi-voluntarily, wasn’t something he’d handle well, especially given the number of casualties they’d endured. She’d clung to him, pulling him close as he told her everything, and she knew then like she knows now, that he’d take a long time to recover.

He plays it off though, blaming things like leaving a light on on plain forgetfulness and “not getting any younger”. More than once, she catches him getting out of bed after he thinks she’s asleep and cracking the door open. She can’t fathom what it was like, trapped in space with nowhere to go, but he’s back now and she wants to help him remember that. Once the dust settles, she gets him to agree to a vacation, and she spends the better part of the first hour of the drive prying his hand loose from the wheel. His knuckles are white and his jaw is squared, and she knows if she asks him, he’ll chalk it up to stress, nevermind the fact that stress is the exact reason they’re taking this trip in the first place.

They get to the cabin, nice and secluded and away from everything, and some of the tension leeches off of him in waves. A few days away from the cameras and flashing bulbs, and questions about saving the world yet again, are just what she feels they need.

Still, when Tony closes his eyes to sleep, it’s the walls of the ship he sees. He’s on his last minutes of oxygen, his strength and will to live fading fast, until Pepper shakes him awake.

“It’s okay,” she says, carding a hand through his hair and watching as his breathing returns to normal.

He tries grounding himself to the here and now, picking up things he can feel--like Pepper’s hands against him--and things he can smell. It takes longer than he’d like, but before too long he returns to some semblance of normal. Whatever that is these days, he thinks. Just as he settles against the pillow, Pepper swings her legs over the side of the bed and moves to leave the room. “Where are you going?” he asks, trying and failing to hide the panic in his voice.

“I’m getting you some water,” she says, turning for a moment in the doorway before exiting the room. She returns moments later with a bottle of water for Tony along with one for herself. She glances at him in the dim light of the room, studying him as he slowly uncaps the water. In recent days, she’s shared with him the struggles she and the others faced while he was stuck in space, but he hasn’t opened up much. “Do you want to talk about it?” she asks.

Tony sighs, his shoulders feeling heavy, but in a less cumbersome way than before. It’s not the first time Pepper has shaken him awake from a nightmare, and he doubts it’ll be the last, no matter how much he might like for it to. “I was on the ship. I’d sent the message to you, knowing you’d probably never hear it. Not even knowing if you were--” he pauses, tightening his jaw. He counts to five, tells himself he can’t go there, not while she’s there beside him as living proof they’ve made it. “I lost, Pep. We lost. I watched Peter disappear to dust right before my eyes, helpless, and I had no idea if I’d ever see you again, and--”

“But he’s back, Tony. And I am right here. Everything is fixed,” Pepper says, trying her best to remain logical, if only for his sake. She’d be lying if she said she had never been afraid of not seeing him again once learning he was aboard the ship. “You did it. You all did. It will take some time for everything to feel normal again, but when has that stopped us before?”

Tony swallows, considering her words. “Peter told me he doesn’t have a memory of what happened. But what if he does? What if any of them do? They could have memories lodged inside of them, of what it was like while they were--” his next words are silenced by Pepper pressing a finger to his lips. He lifts a hand to move it away only to drop it at the look of warning etched on her face.

“Do you know why I chose this place when I suggested we take a vacation? Partially because some of the premier resorts are still working to get themselves back together, but also because I wanted peace and quiet. You and me, away from everything,” she says, moving her finger from his lips and tracing it down his face. “It’s okay to be worried about everyone else. It is, but it’s also important to take care of you. Can we focus on that this weekend? Please?”

“Okay,” he concedes, knowing better than to try and argue. It seemed crazy, like some kind of dream, that they’d killed Thanos and his crew and managed to all survive relatively unscathed. They all harbored their fair share of bumps and bruises, even a broken bone or two, but as he drifts back to sleep, he listens to the subtle breaths coming from Pepper sleeping beside him. He’s safe--they both are--and that’s all he could’ve ever asked for. Of course, the rest doesn’t last long, because eventually dreams come snaking back in, visions of an ash filled battlefield and lightning coursing through his veins, and losing consciousness just as Pepper--in armor, no less--kneels down at his side. He wakes with a start, careful this time not to wake her as he pushes the comforter back and carefully maneuvers his way out of the room. In the kitchen, there’s a hint of early morning sunlight casting a soft glow through the window. He goes through the motions of making coffee, feeling on high alert though he knows he no longer has reason to worry.

Coffee in hand, he opens the front door and steps out onto the porch, looking up just soon enough to see a bird dive down and catch a fish from the lake before flying off somewhere with their find. The warmth from his mug leeches into his hands, a comforting feeling as a breeze passes through the trees.

“You’re up early,” Pepper’s voice sounds from behind him. Her arms wrap around his waist, pulling him back towards her, and she plants a kiss against his neck. “I won’t ask how you slept, Tony, because I know the answer. But can you at least tell me you’re enjoying yourself here?”

He spins in her arms, carefully setting his mug on the porch railing before looping his arms around her middle. He glances down at where their feet meet, spotting the lightest pink polish on her toes, and he nearly wants to cry at the utter domesticity of it all. That they should both be alive, standing barefoot on the porch of a cabin in practically the middle of nowhere, seemed to him as much a surprise as an actual right, in light of all they’d been through. “I am, actually. I don’t know how you found this place, but it’s gorgeous. It’s got a garage I could tinker in, though I plan on taking a break from that for a while. And this view, right here by the lake?” he says, turning back to face the yard.

“You could get used to it?” Pepper asks, joining him in staring out across the lake. She shifts her gaze back to him, watching as he swallows a sip of the coffee, smiling for what feels like the first genuine time in weeks. Tilting her head, she clears her throat, gripping his arm to get his attention. “Tony, the reason I found this place is because it’s on the market. I pulled some strings, spoke with the realtor, which is why we were allowed to stay this weekend. I know there are some things that would need fixed, upgrades to things like security that would definitely need to be made, but--” she pauses, trying to read the look on his face. “I’ve prepared an offer, but if you think it’s a bad idea, I won’t--”

“Did I ever tell you how smart you are? I’m kidding, I know I have. But as a reminder? I know I’m supposed to be the genius in this relationship, but--”

“Who says we can’t both be geniuses?” Pepper asks, only pretending to be offended.

Tony looks to the house, the lake, then back at her. This is what he wanted, what he’d talked about years before. Finding a cabin, maybe building one, and settling down. It seems unreal, but he knows better than to second guess a gift he’s been given. “Can you deal with being this far from the city?”

“Can you?” Pepper counters, arching a brow. He’s told her more than once that he’s hanging up his suit, that he’s done being Iron Man, but she knows better than to truly think he’s one hundred percent done tinkering for good. She just hopes this time he’ll do it far away from the fights that might still lie ahead.

“We have cars. We can commute,” he replies, rocking back on his heels as he mulls the idea over, though he’d already known his answer the moment she’d suggested it. “I like it.”

“Good, I’ll let the realtor know,” she says, ducking her head as she prepares the part that comes next. “Tony, do you see that tree over there? The one next to the lake? I was thinking it would be a good candidate for a tire swing.”

“A tire swing? Why would we need--” Tony starts, thinking it’s the strangest idea he’s ever heard from her, until the reality of what she’s getting at seeps in. “No. Really?”

The childish grin on his face makes her laugh. “I have an appointment on Monday to officially confirm, but yes.”

For once, Tony finds himself speechless. He rakes a hand through his hair, eyes shifting down to her still flat stomach. Parents, he thinks. They’re going to be parents. He carefully rests his hands against her belly, shaking his head like he still can’t believe it. “Boy? Girl? That dream I had, it feels like forever ago, but the baby--our baby…”

Pepper cradles his face, urging him to look up at her. There’s still a scar on his cheek, a remnant from the battle, but there’s a light in his eyes, and his shoulders aren’t as heavy. “You know as well as I do that it’s too early to tell.”

“I mean come on, it’s our kid. Morgan is bound to be smart, no matter what,” he chimes.

“We still have time to decide on a name,” Pepper replies, though she can’t bring herself to be annoyed in the slightest at his obvious excitement about the baby. He’s chased down enough horrors for one lifetime, they both have, so they deserve this.

“We do,” Tony says. He presses his forehead to hers, enjoying the quiet sounds of the land around them--crickets, birds, maybe even a deer or two--slowly coming to life. He closes his eyes, breathing in deep, and can picture the tire swing Pepper mentioned, and maybe a little playhouse or tent down by the lake, with a picnic table even, to occasionally eat dinner outside. He knows without questioning that this is what he’d been fighting for all along.

“Are you okay?” Pepper asks. Tony being quiet isn’t always a good sign, and though he doesn’t appear worried or stressed, she wants to know for sure.

Tony knows the moments will come when his nightmares will feel real. He knows they won’t just stop because he and Pepper and their impending arrival have a new home, or because for once he’s done what he’s wanted to do for years: just stop. Stop running, stop fighting, stop taking blame for things that aren’t his fault. It’ll take some time to get back to normal, he knows that, but as he looks back up at Pepper, he can’t help hoping that moment will come soon. He leans in, kissing her slowly, before offering a nod. “Yeah,” he replies, unable to say much else. “I am.”


End file.
